Steve Smith previews Australia's champions Trophy opener against England
21/02/2025
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21/02/2025
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00:00Australia is the most successful team in ICC events. What is the mindset behind this?
00:23Good question. I'm not sure but I think maybe the pressure of big tournaments brings
00:29the best out of us. Is this supposed to be on? Are we on? There we go. Happy?
00:37Yeah, good question. I think the pressure of big tournaments gets the best out of us
00:43as a team. I think over the last ten or so years we probably haven't performed as well
00:49as we would have liked in the Champions Trophy. We know that sometimes in the big tournaments
00:56like World Cups, for instance, it takes us a little while to get into our groove, which
01:00we've done in the last few, but we know in Champions Trophy it's a shorter format.
01:05You're only playing three round games so you have to be switched on from the first one.
01:10Our message to the group is essentially it's a quarterfinal to begin proceedings and hopefully
01:16that can bring the best out of our players.
01:20Strict retirements, injuries, missing the fastball in Triathlon, 11th hour captaincy
01:27in the ICC Champions Trophy. We have pictures of Patrick Vincent instead of you.
01:33So as a captain, it's all either pressure on you or on the other side. You're feeling
01:40no pressure, having some duty, no hopes, no targets. So do you feel pressure in all
01:48of this? I mean, I'm pretty relaxed. There's always pressure when you're playing in international
02:02events and big tournaments. It's clear we're obviously missing a few of our gun-fast bowlers,
02:10but we're not worried about that. We're thinking about what we've got here and the opportunity
02:15that those guys have. So there's some quality players in that room that are playing in almost
02:21their first big event, I suppose, which they're looking forward to and I'm looking forward
02:27to as well. I think it's going to be great to see them placed under pressure against
02:31the quality oppositions and it's going to be an exciting time for us. So yeah, looking
02:36forward to it.
02:38Same for India and Pakistan, it's a big rivalry and now Australia and England, it's also a
02:45big cricket rivalry. So how do you see the England cricket team, they announced their
02:51adamant. Do you see the conditions with fewer months to go ahead?
02:57Yeah, look, England are a great side. They've been a very good white ball team for a long
03:03period of time and we're looking forward to starting our campaign against them tomorrow.
03:08Hopefully it's a belter of a game. I actually haven't seen the surface yet. I wasn't here
03:13when we trained at this ground a few days back. I was a bit sick, so I actually haven't
03:17seen the surface and it was undercovers just now. So to your one spin question, I'm unsure.
03:23I'll have a look when I get an opportunity and we'll go from there.
03:29Have you decided on your team yet?
03:34We haven't yet. We're pretty clear where we're sort of heading, but we'll name it at the
03:39toss tomorrow. But yeah, I need to have a look at the surface when we get an opportunity
03:44as well. So yeah, we're pretty clear where we want to go, but yeah, we'll name it tomorrow.
03:49Does it feel a different dressing room without Max and Josh and Mitch Stark? Does it feel
03:55different to you to be in there and not see them there with them?
03:59It's a little bit different. I've played for 10 years plus with those guys around, so it's
04:05a little bit different. But yeah, as I alluded to before, I think it's a great opportunity
04:10for some of these younger guys to showcase their skills in a world event. Yeah, I'm looking
04:16forward to it. I think they've been placed under pressure in many different scenarios,
04:21whether it be T20 cricket or different T20 franchise things around the world. So they've
04:28played in high-pressure scenarios. So yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing how that stacks
04:32up, I suppose, in a world event against some quality players too.
04:39Steve, first of all, thank you for coming to Patsan and that's your question for tomorrow's
04:43flash. The question is, you are in TAP4, including Virat, Hrithik Imsan and Joe Roos. But our
04:50superstar, Babarazan, is letting go since last 15 years. Can you share some words or
04:56advice for Babarazan?
04:59Look, he's a quality player. He's had a really good career so far. He's got all the time
05:07in the world, the way he plays. He's got a solid technique. He's got a good head on his
05:12shoulders. Maybe he hasn't scored as many runs as he would have liked in the last little
05:17bit. We're all guilty of that at stages throughout our careers, don't worry. But yeah, he's a
05:23wonderful player.
05:29Will the Champions' Trophy and the World Cup format be quite similar? I was just wondering
05:33does being a reigning World Cup champion impact the motivation for the Champions' Trophy?
05:39I think it's irrelevant really. It's another event. And as I sort of alluded to before,
05:46you've got to be focused from that first game. I think in our last World Cup, we were a bit
05:51slow to get started. We were really under the pump and then we brought our best cricket
05:57towards the back end of the tournament, which I think is what you need in World Cups. Champions'
06:02Trophy is a lot different. Obviously, the eight best sides at the moment are here. You
06:07can't be slow to get started. You've got to get right into your work from the outset.
06:11So yeah, that's our message to the group. And the guys are excited about getting started
06:16tomorrow night against England out here.
06:20You guys have upper hand on India in the last 10 ODIs. So coming into this tournament, both
06:27of the teams have lost their respective series to India and Sri Lanka. So any specific plan
06:31for tomorrow so that you can start?
06:34Score one more run than the opposition. Simple as that. I think we both didn't play as well
06:42as we would have liked, I suppose, over the last couple of weeks. But that doesn't mean
06:46a great deal coming into tomorrow. I think it's a fresh start. It's a new tournament.
06:50Two good teams going at it. So I'm looking forward to tomorrow. It should be a good game.
06:58Australia and Australia are both our favourite teams for Pakistani spectators. So what strategy
07:05will you make tomorrow to charge and affect spectators towards you and your team?
07:12Just hopefully put in a good performance. I think we'll be nice and positive, nice and
07:17aggressive, both with bat and ball early on in the power play. And try and get on top
07:25from that way, from that point of view. So yeah, I'm not sure. Just go out and play a
07:31really nice brand of cricket and hopefully we can get some good support out here tomorrow.
07:37Hi Steve, I think there were a lot of questions about tomorrow's match. But I want to ask
07:41you specifically, what do you think, who will be the fourth semi-finalist of this Champions
07:46Cup event? One is obviously Australia in your point of view.
07:50I'm not going to answer that. I think we've got eight really good teams that I think can
07:56win on any given day. So I think that's what makes this tournament really good. You've
08:01got to turn up on every day and play a really good game of cricket. So no, I'm not answering
08:05that question. But the best four teams will be there at the end.
08:10Steve, England have named Smith at number three. Will you be batting three? You don't
08:15know your team perhaps, but do you believe in batting?
08:18Pretty good chance, I reckon, yeah.
08:22Hi Steve, you have played your last match in Kazakhstan last in 2022. You have played
08:27the test match there. And now you are coming back to a new Kazakhstan, which is built newly.
08:34How has been the experience here in the new stadium? Under the lights or playing in the
08:42training here for the last two years?
08:45No, it looks really good. It's the first I've seen of it. As I said before, I didn't come
08:49to the training session the other day. I was a bit sick. But yeah, I'm here now and it
08:54looks great. The new change room is really good and the stands look beautiful. So hopefully
08:59we have a nice crowd out here tomorrow, a good atmosphere and hopefully we can put on
09:03a good show for them.
09:05Hello Steve, we saw in the tri-nation series, fast bowlers getting good bounce at the first
09:13inning of the match. Can fast bowlers be more effective than spinners?
09:21I think both can play a real part. First to second innings can be a little bit different.
09:27We've seen, I heard the other night here when the boys trained, there was a bit of duel
09:31around in the evening. So the back end of the game could be challenging for the bowlers
09:39with the wet ball and skidding on. So the day might spin a little bit more when it's
09:45a little bit drier. So I think both have a part to play.
09:49Last couple of points. One here and one there.
09:54Hi Steve, anyone who's selected Matt Wood, Brian Parson, Jofra Archer, I think all three
09:58would probably be expected. I mean, I'm a bowler, I think it's spinners. Does that have
10:02any bearing on you as far as coming forward into the matches this winter? I don't know
10:08if it's based on that, so I'm not going to hit any points with this, you know, Mike
10:13might be able to handle the ball. But does that have any sort of bearing on you?
10:17Oh, not really. I mean, I've faced all those guys quite a bit. So have a lot of the guys
10:23from the change room. So now they're quality bowlers, they're a good attack. So now we're
10:28looking forward to coming up against them tomorrow.
10:33Hey Steve, you've been to Pakistan before and now you're in the Champions Trophy. Tell
10:39us about your experience about Pakistan, about culture, food and people.
10:45No, it's been wonderful so far. The hospitality has been great. Yeah, people are lovely, the
10:51food's been great at our hotel. We haven't really had a chance to get out and do too
10:55much. It's pretty secure, but we played a little bit of golf, which has been nice as
11:00well. But yeah, look, it's a wonderful place to play. I've actually never played a white
11:07ball game in Pakistan before, so I'm excited about that experience. And yeah, it's been
11:13great so far and hopefully that continues.